13. stormtroopers. If you're ever pursued by the faceless ranks of the Empire, press yourself flat against the side of a barn. You should be fine.

12. blaster.The standard sidearm of a galaxy far, far away.

11. Darth Maul.He's not half the Sith Lord he used to be.

10. Yoda. The embodiment of Jedi wisdom and also a great warrior, though he'll tell you that "wars don't make one great."

9. Luke Skywalker. The central hero of the Star Wars saga... that is until the prequel trilogy came along and tilted the perspective so that Anakin's tale came to the forefront. Still, it's Luke who was our first guide to the galaxy, and it was our eyes that looked through his at that twin sunset.

7. clone troopers. Same genes, but different gear and paint jobs. Collect them all!

6. the Empire. The ultimate villains of any saga. Heck, even Ronald Reagan co-opted them for political ends.

5. Anakin Skywalker. The Chosen One and hero of the Republic, until he made a pact with the devil.

4. Sith. Think how many years went by when we simply accepted Darth Vader was a "Dark Lord of the Sith" without asking exactly what being a Sith meant. Now, Sith lore spans centuries, and while we know a lot, they're still holding on to a few secrets.

3. Darth Vader. This year, he's been a grocery day shift manager, a baked potato, a low-bro art installation, and short-hand for the U.S. Vice President. It doesn't matter how you dress him up, he's still the most recognizable of all Star Wars characters.

2. lightsaber. The classic weapon of the Star Wars saga, which makes the #1 slot all the more obvious...

1. the Jedi order. This makes sense when you realize the Force and its followers are the central elements that make Star Wars so different from other sci-fi fare. With the release of the prequel trilogy, an entire generation of kids now aspires to Jedi Knighthood, and it's almost ended up as an option on census forms as a religion thanks to crusading Force-believers.

[i]Like I told your captain, the orphange attacked me. It was self-defense.[/i] -Richard the Warlock [url]http://archive.lfgcomic.com/lfg0002.gif[/url]

Re: Star Wars Popularity

100. Jedi Temple. The place to go to hone your Jedi skills, provided you've got the midi-chlorian count to make the cut.

99. Mas Amedda. In addition to non-stop election season coverage, people want to know about their politicians from a galaxy far, far away...

98. E-wing starfighter. An overpowered fighter craft rolled out in the pages of the Dark Empire graphic novel, the E-wing is the sole expanded universe starship to make the top 100.

97. Kamino. Obi-Wan didn't have much luck finding it in the Jedi Archives, but databank readers found this stormy planet easy enough.

96. A-wing starfighter. The speedy Rebel Alliance starfighter that would make the most effective doorstop, this wedge-shaped ship is the David to the Empire's Goliath. Or, at the very least, the rock in his sling.

95. Banking Clan communications frigate. Banks in our universe spend a lot trying to convince us that they care. In Star Wars, they can bombard your planet from orbit.

94. Admiral Ackbar. All together now: "It's a trap!"

93. ARC-170 Fighter. The gun-laden deep space fighting bird of the clone forces, and one awesome toy to boot.

92. Wedge Antilles. A born survivor, Wedge has escaped every major tangle the Rebels have gone through and then some. We're actually a bit surprised he didn't place higher.

91. Aurra Sing. Intriguing enough to become and EU superstar after the release of Episode I, Aurra enjoyed a resurgence in popularity following an appearance in the Legacy of the Force series.

87. astromech droid. These new astrodroids are getting quite out of hand.

86. Wes Janson. In the movies, it's Janson who trips up an AT-AT walker during the Battle of Hoth. In the novels, he's a wisecracking prankster who can take a cantina brawl or two.

85. Kyle Katarn. There is no chin under Kyle Katarn's beard. There is only another fist.

84. P-38 starfighter. Barely glimpsed in Episode III, this retro-styled fighter earned a two-page spread in the corresponding cross-sections book. It'll get more play in the upcoming Clone Wars animated series.

83. Republic cruiser. You'd think a red starship would look garish, but this government transport carries it off with elegance.

82. Jedi starfighter. The main Jedi ride during the Clone Wars, available in triangle and forked varieties.

72. Anakin Skywalker's Custom Jedi Starfighter. Anakin pimps out his fighter with mag-wheels and thumpin' hydraulics during the Clone Wars.

71. Dusty Duck. Congratulations Hyperspace member, Hedec Ga! Your fan-created entry -- a perk available to Hyperspace members -- is one of only two of its kind to make it into the top 100.

70. Republic assault ship. The predecessor of the triangular Star Destroyers in the classic trilogy, seeing these ships at the end of Episode II made for a nice harbinger of things to come.

69. Wookiee. Let the Wookiee win! Or at least place in the top 100.

68. Yaddle. More than just Yoda in drag, Yaddle was killed off in the books to make room for cooler Jedi on the council.

67. Ki-Adi-Mundi. The chattiest of the Jedi Council supporting cast, the cone-headed Ki-Adi-Mundi is a lousy judge of character. Count Dooku a political idealist and not a murderer? Yeah, good call on that, Beldar.

66. Leviathan. Darth Malak's enormous flagship from the Knights of the Old Republic game. Also the name of that underwater sci-fi film that came out in 1989 that wasn't the Abyss.

65. clone commando. Hard-hitting novels by Karen Traviss plus a first-person shooter game from LucasArts made these special ops troopers unforgettable.

64. ARC troopers. No one would dare make fun of their skirts.

63. Pash Cracken. Pash Cracken? Really? Okay, yeah, he's been in a couple of books, and underwent that whole P.O.W-thing in the New Jedi Order, but does he really warrant being on here? Really? Who thinks about Pash Cracken?

60. C-3PO. The golden droid is far from doomed. He's downright popular. This is his moment to shine.

59. Sith fighter. These speedy little ships are fun to shoot out of the sky in the gunport levels of Knights of the Old Republic.

58. Commander Neyo. Daylight come and he wants to lead clones.

57. Aarrba the Hutt. On second thought, we take back everything we said about Pash Cracken.

56. X-wing fighter. The unbeatable starfighter design against which all other fighters are judged.

55. Jar Jar Binks. Take that bashers! Meesa muy muy more popular than clone commandos.

54. Coruscant. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere in the galaxy.

53. AT-AT. The toy every kid wanted to have. Remember the old TV ad where it was stomping coffee creamer cups?

52. battle droid. Popular with guys named Roger.

51. Clone Commander Cody. We're pretty sure he's the only Star Wars character to share a name with a black-and-white movie serial and a country rock band, though admittedly, we really didn't do that much research.

And I seem to have deleted 50-26.

[i]Like I told your captain, the orphange attacked me. It was self-defense.[/i] -Richard the Warlock [url]http://archive.lfgcomic.com/lfg0002.gif[/url]